CHAPTER 4 – THE ARGUMENT ABOVE THE LAWN
The second-floor deck smelled like warm wood and expensive flowers.
Below, children laughed near the bounce house. A woman adjusted blue candles on the cake. Someone called Emma’s name. From up there, the birthday party looked like a painting of happiness carefully arranged to hide rot beneath the frame.
Tyler shut the glass door behind them.
Ava turned immediately. “I’m not staying up here.”
“You’re leaving this house,” he said.
“I was already going to.”
“Not with whatever you think you have.”
She felt her heartbeat shift.
He knew.
Maybe not everything, but enough.
Ava kept her voice steady. “You stole from a child.”
Tyler’s face tightened. “You have no idea what that money was for.”
“For Emma.”
“For family stability.”
“That is the ugliest phrase rich people use when they mean theft.”
He stepped closer. She stepped back, stopping near the white railing.
Below, Margaret looked up briefly from beside the patio. Howard stood near her, hands clasped behind his back. Neither called out.
Ava noticed.
So did Tyler.
He lowered his voice. “Delete the copies.”
“No.”
“Ava.”
“You forged Lydia’s signature.”
His eyes flashed. “Be careful.”
“You used a dead woman’s name to move money from her daughter’s trust.”
Tyler’s breathing grew shallow. “You always thought you were better than us.”
“No,” she said. “I thought you were better than this.”
For a moment, something like shame crossed his face.
Then anger burned it away.
“The email,” he said. “Where is it?”
Ava should not have looked toward her handbag downstairs on the gift table.
It was only a flicker.
Tyler caught it.
His gaze dropped to the lawn, then back to her.
“You stupid woman.”
Ava moved toward the stairs.
He grabbed her wrist.
She pulled free. “Don’t touch me.”
Below them, Emma appeared at the edge of the lawn holding a blue balloon, looking upward with puzzled eyes.
Ava saw the child.
Tyler saw Ava see her.
That made the moment worse.
Ava said the sentence that broke him:
“Emma deserves to know who took from her.”
May you like
Tyler’s face went empty.
Then his hands shoved her hard.
